In the ashes of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, amid the bloat and pretense of the games industry, always must there be a presentation... always must there be game trailers... and always must there be those who commentate. So it is we find ourselves in the aftermath of this year's collected summer showcases, a cavalcade of announcements and information to parse in its wake. For my part, I set forth to once again note the games (and, occasionally, people or moments) that stood out - for good or ill. Today, we tackle that which was displayed at Sony's State of Play, the OTK Games Expo, and the Summer Game Fest... Sony State of Play The High Point: Astro Bot Is it nakedly playing off of lingering nostalgia for various Sony properties, current and forgotten? Yes. Is it unmistakably taking cues from other more successful platformer series? Absolutely. Nevertheless, the team at Sony seem to have nailed the charm when it comes to their robot mascot, which is half the battle for cr...
Some Background, First
The prospect of a Sequel Trilogy excited and thrilled me in a way I’d not felt in a long while - seeing that first teaser of The Force Awakens, where the Millenium Falcon comes swooping into frame over the deserts of Jakku, was nothing short of breathtaking. I’d loved the Original Trilogy, I had a certain abiding fondness for the Prequels, I adored the games, I liked the spin-off books I’d read (Tales of the Bounty Hunters and the early Rogue Squadron books, primarily). Point is, I cheer at the mere thought of new Star Wars.
The Force Awakens was quite pleasant, all told; not quite EMPIRE-level greatness, not even RETURN in terms of quality, but a solid revival of the franchise’s spirit that left room for growth and promising developments. The next year, Rogue One stepped up to the plate as a surprisingly promising spin-off film, offering a bit darker and a bit more scrappy of a take on familiar Star Wars fare than usual. And so when the early trailers for The Last Jedi came around I felt hopeful - cautious given the franchise’s issues with maintaining quality over time, but hopeful nevertheless.
Not everyone seemed to share that same hope, especially once the film came and went. To put it excessively mildly, the reaction to Episode VIII was astounding in its fervor… and its toxic divisiveness. Some criticism of the film I could grasp well enough (Star Wars isn’t for everyone, art’s subjective, not every creative decision sits well with an audience, so on and so forth), but there was a not-insignificant portion of folks who were just straight-up assholes about it. Harassing the cast and crew, berating director Rian Johnson at every opportunity, going to extreme lengths to both miss the apparent point of the film AND attempt to “wish” it out of existence… that shit’s cruel and misguided.
There were a lot of reasons I’d put off watching it - work putting me in a position where I just didn’t have the time, not wanting to jump into the conversation while it was still hot and heavy, et cetera. But I think the biggest one was I wanted to be mentally prepared for it, giving myself time to set expectations and not oversell or undersell the film to myself. Judge it on the merits, and all that.
So then… to my thoughts.
My Thoughts
I felt like soaring with all kinds of emotions after watching this film. The Last Jedi is, to be absolutely clear, a wonderful and masterful work from a team that I’d already expected to be solid in their output. It charts the way forward for Star Wars (as a brand, as a narrative, as a wider franchise) like few other works have before. And it reminded me of why I fell deeply, utterly in love with these films in the first place.
The key to why it works - besides the time-tested combo of Good Director, Good Cast & Crew, Good Script - is rather simple: it gets Star Wars. It’s sufficiently critical and introspective about various aspects of the universe and mythos, like the place of the Jedi and the role of a Rebellion given all kinds of profiteering and political machinations. At the same time, it also understands why those things came to exist, and sets the stage for what they must become in the times ahead.
It’s damn near spelled out in a number of key scenes, such as old Master Skywalker’s fireside chat with the spirit of Puppet Yoda (YAY!) and various moments during the Canto Bight sequence. It’s challenged by the understandable but ultimately misguided rhetoric of both Luke and his nephew Ben Solo (Kylo Ren) - the former believing that the Jedi’s admittedly innumerable failures means they should cease to exist for the good of the galaxy and the Force, the latter driven to murderous and anarchic intent by his view that the galaxy’s systems and traditions AS A WHOLE are to blame for evil.
The Last Jedi recognizes and explores the need for change as an explicit theme, as a way of thinking in and out of narrative. It permeates the character arcs - Rey overcoming her feeling of worthlessness to find her own purpose in life, Finn letting go of fear and wholeheartedly embracing the fight for freedom, Poe learning to think before he leaps and thus showing his potential as a budding leader of the Rebellion. Even Luke’s last stand, buying time for the last of the Resistance to escape from their base on Crait, is driven very much by his renewed understanding of what a simple act of heroism and compassion can mean for people.
Systems and archaic ways of thinking cannot stand, yes, but to destroy them without thought or concern for consequence is foolish. Moreover, as the film argues without ever having to stop the action to outright explain it, it’s dangerous for the very people one seeks to help. The Last Jedi makes a compelling case for thoughtful evolution of cultures and of causes, for the idea that if the Jedi and its ilk are to endure then they must change with the times and learn from the past… not abandon all hope and forget what has come before.
Beyond that aspect, The Last Jedi has a great deal to offer its audience. It’s often breathtaking in its cinematography, depicting such sights as the salty surface of Crait or the exquisitely gauche riches of Canto Bight in great detail. Care is taken in staging shots and scenes, colour and lighting coming alive in ways much unlike past films in the franchise. The soundtrack soars and broods where it must, lending weight to action and evoking these potent emotional responses at every turn. It’s a film of great beauty and great substance in many regards.
No one was quite prepared for this to be the thing that stamped director Rian Johnson and co’s names onto Star Wars. But by god, by every god, I am glad it turned out so well. Whatever comes next from this creative team, whatever Johnson may have up his sleeve for his own trilogy and beyond, I can safely declare myself eager and hopeful for the end result.
This mattered. This will endure the test of time, gods (or maybe Force) willing. Thank you.
The key to why it works - besides the time-tested combo of Good Director, Good Cast & Crew, Good Script - is rather simple: it gets Star Wars. It’s sufficiently critical and introspective about various aspects of the universe and mythos, like the place of the Jedi and the role of a Rebellion given all kinds of profiteering and political machinations. At the same time, it also understands why those things came to exist, and sets the stage for what they must become in the times ahead.
It’s damn near spelled out in a number of key scenes, such as old Master Skywalker’s fireside chat with the spirit of Puppet Yoda (YAY!) and various moments during the Canto Bight sequence. It’s challenged by the understandable but ultimately misguided rhetoric of both Luke and his nephew Ben Solo (Kylo Ren) - the former believing that the Jedi’s admittedly innumerable failures means they should cease to exist for the good of the galaxy and the Force, the latter driven to murderous and anarchic intent by his view that the galaxy’s systems and traditions AS A WHOLE are to blame for evil.
The Last Jedi recognizes and explores the need for change as an explicit theme, as a way of thinking in and out of narrative. It permeates the character arcs - Rey overcoming her feeling of worthlessness to find her own purpose in life, Finn letting go of fear and wholeheartedly embracing the fight for freedom, Poe learning to think before he leaps and thus showing his potential as a budding leader of the Rebellion. Even Luke’s last stand, buying time for the last of the Resistance to escape from their base on Crait, is driven very much by his renewed understanding of what a simple act of heroism and compassion can mean for people.
Systems and archaic ways of thinking cannot stand, yes, but to destroy them without thought or concern for consequence is foolish. Moreover, as the film argues without ever having to stop the action to outright explain it, it’s dangerous for the very people one seeks to help. The Last Jedi makes a compelling case for thoughtful evolution of cultures and of causes, for the idea that if the Jedi and its ilk are to endure then they must change with the times and learn from the past… not abandon all hope and forget what has come before.
Beyond that aspect, The Last Jedi has a great deal to offer its audience. It’s often breathtaking in its cinematography, depicting such sights as the salty surface of Crait or the exquisitely gauche riches of Canto Bight in great detail. Care is taken in staging shots and scenes, colour and lighting coming alive in ways much unlike past films in the franchise. The soundtrack soars and broods where it must, lending weight to action and evoking these potent emotional responses at every turn. It’s a film of great beauty and great substance in many regards.
No one was quite prepared for this to be the thing that stamped director Rian Johnson and co’s names onto Star Wars. But by god, by every god, I am glad it turned out so well. Whatever comes next from this creative team, whatever Johnson may have up his sleeve for his own trilogy and beyond, I can safely declare myself eager and hopeful for the end result.
This mattered. This will endure the test of time, gods (or maybe Force) willing. Thank you.
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